


with the world at our feet

by Rupzydaisy



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Battle Couple, F/F, Stargazing, bickering at inappropriate times, do you remember that time in..., pre film
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:48:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28337238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rupzydaisy/pseuds/Rupzydaisy
Summary: "Or we could travel? Perhaps northwards. Remember Ranrike? I've missed the hot stews we used to eat in the winter.""Missed Ranrike? But it's so cold!" protested Andromache. "You complained about the ice and the hard ground the whole time we were there.""So, are you saying you'd prefer another desert?"They'd always have to move on...but with all the time in the world, their journeys would lead them back to much-loved places.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko
Comments: 16
Kudos: 21
Collections: Andromaquynh Secret Santa 2020





	with the world at our feet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TuskFM](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TuskFM/gifts).



Andromache rouses in her sleep, senses prickling with the familiar notion of being watched. But she’s warm and there’s no sound other than the crackle of the fire embers, so she doesn’t jump to her feet or reach for a dagger. Yet there are instincts embedded deep from lifetimes of keeping watch and keeping safe, so she cracks open her eyes. 

A quick glance around, and she finds Quỳnh awake and looking back at her. The sight makes her smile drowsily. Then she loops her arm over Quỳnh’s waist to bring her closer. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. You can rest, my love." 

Quỳnh smiles back despite her tiredness, tracing a soft hand over her love's cheek. “I know.”

Closing her eyes, Andromache relaxes again, like metal turned molten. Quỳnh draws closer to her warmth and pulls the blanket higher, trying to let the night air lull her into a dreamless sleep. 

Lying out in the open under the cloudless night sky feels like a stolen moment from years gone by. 

Forever moving onwards, they could not retrace the steps washed away by changing rivers or scattered by seasonal winds. Yet those days of choosing a direction to explore and sharing their delight with each other is a lifetime, or several, away from the stresses of bounty hunting, alternating night watches, and the constant chase to keep up with their marks. 

It was true, they were not made to stand still. 

Whenever they did, questions were asked as the years passed. Age would touch their friends and neighbours while they remained the same youthful women. They would never have answers, and it brought danger to them and those who cared enough to protect them. 

But sometimes, they tried anyway. 

Quỳnh shut her eyes, wanting to make the most of the small hours. But her thoughts turned back to fond memories of a place where the breeze blew warm across the seashore, and then even further into their past where the sun fell golden over beautiful, lush green land. The hazy memories were tinged with a sweetness she’d always recall.

Looking up at the night sky, Quỳnh sighed and the longing became heavy in her heart. 

Without opening her eyes, Andromache muttered, “No?”

“Sleep eludes me tonight.” 

Concern leaked into Andromache's voice. “What’s wrong, my love?"

Shifting to sit up, Andromache drew the blankets around them. When Quỳnh felt the warmth of her arms, the press of her soft lips on her cheek, those old, treasured memories were brought back to life. There were no barriers between them. Their years together had only brought them closer. 

Likewise, there was no hesitation for Quỳnh to share her thoughts. “I meant what I said, about moving on.” 

“Oh.” 

* * *

The agora had been busy with early morning hustling and people milled from stall to stall to get a good deal before the midday rush came through. Quỳnh had stationed herself beside the town gates with her bow already strung and resting on her shoulder while Andromache went from inn to inn, checking to see if there were any leads to follow. 

Her mood had clearly brightened when she returned, despite the long overnight travel that had kept them awake and their horses moving to catch up. 

She quickly shared the news with a satisfied grin. “A group of armed travellers stopped the night, looking for supplies.” 

“They’re _still_ here?" Quỳnh's disbelief gave way to a surge of enthusiasm. "Well, that’ll make this easier. We'll be back at Byrsa by tomorrow.” 

With a hand on her hip resting close to her throwing axe, Andromache gestured cheerily, “Shall we look closer to the stables?” 

It hadn’t taken long to find the leader of the bandits. 

The man was haggling loudly for new tack and reins in a smaller courtyard behind the stables where the soft nicker of horses drifted from the barns and the smell of fresh straw filled the air. A purse of stolen gold, one of many taken at sword point, clinked at his waist as he looked over the finer items on display. 

With a nod of her head, Andromache took leisurely strides towards a pen with horses for sale and struck up a conversation with the seller. To anyone in the vicinity, she'd look like an ordinary traveller looking to secure replacements for her onward journey. Quỳnh hung back at the neck of the courtyard, blocking off any potential escape into the main streets. Fingers tensing at her side, she remained ready to pluck an arrow from the quiver on her back. 

But the bandit leader was observant. 

Despite Andromache's overly casual movements around the horses, he had glimpsed the axe hanging on her belt. The gleam of the sharp blade elicited a prickle of danger that couldn't be ignored. 

He wrenched the stall display over, sending tack flying to the ground. Andromache stumbled sideways to avoid a saddle from crushing her feet.

The upheaval gave the man enough time to draw his sword. The tip of the blade reached the back of Andromache’s tunic, although it got no further than slashing the first layer of fabric. 

Teetering backwards, he pulled out the arrow sunk into his shoulder and cried out, “We’re found! Bounty hunters!”

Before Andromache had the chance to regain her balance, Quỳnh had closed the distance across the square. She grabbed at the axe tucked in Andromache’s belt and swung to deflect a blow aimed at her heart’s back. 

Metal clashed on metal, and the sword was sent flying. With her second swing, she caught the bandit across his legs and he crumpled to the ground. 

“You work quick, my love.” Andromache took her axe back with the briefest of kisses that promised: _I always have your back, my heart_

Under Quỳnh’s lips, Andromache’s grin sharpened. 

Andromache’s limbs tensed as she pulled away, and reflexively Quỳnh braced herself at the sound of oncoming footsteps. Her heart beat faster, blood quickening in her veins. Quỳnh drew back the first of her arrows, holding the tension in the bow string.

Around them, chaos had erupted. 

Stall holders abandoned the goods they couldn’t carry. They slipped into houses or ran down alleyways to get away from the oncoming trouble. The doors to the stable were pulled shut in haste, and the deadened the sound of horses’ hooves stomping at the disturbance. 

There was a moment’s stillness at the mouth of the courtyard. 

Then the remaining bandits charged into the courtyard with their weapons drawn. Quỳnh pulled back the bow string a fraction of an inch further to come to full draw. Her arrows flew in quick succession. All hit their targets. 

Beside her, as always, Andromache fought with her axe in one hand and dagger in another. She moved with more grace than a dancer, blocking and disarming with each step. Her blows were unforgiving, and her opponents fell to the ground, stunned into surrendering. 

It was mesmerising to see her in full flow. They had learnt from each other but Andromache had taken greater delight in sharing her vast knowledge, and they had soon become equally matched in hand-to-hand combat. Where they travelled and fought, new challenges arose from a competitive streak they both shared, although Quỳnh still held a greater proficiency with the bow. 

Quỳnh felt a brush at her back. It was the briefest of touches as Andromache swiped an arrow from her quiver.

Between her next punches, Quỳnh saw Andromache jab it at the first of their attackers before following up with a powerful swing of her axe. The flat of the axe head slammed into the man’s chest and he dropped to the ground. 

Barely breathless, Andromache jerked her head at the cornered men still holding their weapons and inching closer. “Three down, four left. Do you think they’ll surrender?” 

“Perhaps they understand they're outmatched?” Quỳnh replied, lowering her bow. “Will you surrender to us?” 

The bandit closest to her only swung forth his fists again, and Quỳnh dropped her bow to free up her hands. "Ah, I think he means to say no, my love." 

"It was worth asking." Andromache shrugged and raised her axe again. "Since we didn't have to hunt them through the forest, we can pick up another job earlier than planned."

Between striking out with her foot and avoiding another punch, Quỳnh couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice. "Or we could travel? Perhaps northwards. Remember Ranrike? I've missed the hot stews we used to eat in the winter."

"Missed Ranrike? But it's so cold!" protested Andromache. "You complained about the ice and the hard ground the whole time we were there."

"So, are you saying you'd prefer another desert?" Quỳnh asked, as she pushed yet another disarmed bandit across the courtyard to land on his ill-chosen friends. 

The light-hearted laugh she got in return was too warm and too soft to be delivered in the middle of a fight. 

Andromache’s smile never wavered as she parried blows from her attacker. "My heart, I'd go anywhere so long as you're there."

The heat of the battle gave way to the swell of heat deep in Quỳnh’s chest. 

It was a promise made wordlessly from the moment Quỳnh had felt Andromache's hands on her face, her voice in her ears. More than a dream. More than a trick of the hot desert air. There was nothing that could part them since that first touch. 

"What about Til Barsip?" Quỳnh asked, knowing full well of her heart's dislike of the rocky outcrops they’d have to travel over to get there. “Swimming in the Euphrates in the heat of summer? Feasting like kings on wild boar?” 

The heavy sigh Quỳnh got in return was quickly upturned by the recognition of her mischievousness.

"Anywhere. Everywhere." Andromache promised again with her bright eyes locked on Quỳnh, who was only slightly distracted by knocking back a blow aimed for her heart's neck. 

The fight was over quick, even though both were distracted in their reminiscing. 

With Andromache standing guard over their trapped bounty, Quỳnh pulled a coil of rope off one of the market stalls. The bandits were quickly tied up, ready to be delivered to face justice. In the place of the rope, they left the bandit leader's purse of gold coins.

* * *

Under the night sky, Andromache's hand pauses between Quỳnh's shoulder blades. “Really? I would not ask of anything in this world other than you. Your company, your kindness, your bold heart… but you would ask me to go to Ranrike?”

Quỳnh's laughter is music to her ears and the flash of her smile lights up the night far brighter than the stars above them. 

They had spent over thirty years of hard travel as bounty hunters around Carthage. But nights like these where they could lie back, watch the stars spin across the sky, and exchange soft kisses were the ones she wanted more of, would _always_ want more of.

When Andromache cast her thoughts back, "Do you remember Bukhara? The skies were just as clear?" 

"It was meant to be a stopover. But...we set up camp on the edge of the oasis, mingled with the settlers." Quỳnh laughed, "And by the end of the evening we knew we wouldn't be able to leave in the morning." 

"One week became two weeks. And then winter came and waiting for good weather became the new excuse."

Their trip down memory lane continued as Quỳnh laced their fingers together, pressing kisses to her unmarred knuckles. They had spent a good amount of time trying to right wrongs on the roads to Carthage. They had captured scores of bounties and helped protect outlying villages beyond the shadow of the city's walls and soldiers. But they had also built fearsome reputations and word of them had spread far and wide. 

"You're right, I think it may be time to head east again."

"Yes?" Quỳnh asks, snuggling closer to press her cheek against Andromache's neck, feeling the slow and steady thump of her pulse against her lips. 

"We've made a name for ourselves here. The girls in Carthage sleep with knives under their pillows but they dream of the two women guarding their city. In the inns, they sing of the woman with hair as dark as night and an aim so true she puts the falling stars to shame." 

Andromache didn’t try to disguise the pride in her voice, only dipped her head to meet Quỳnh's lips with her own before whispering, "Time to disappear. Anywhere you choose." 

Her voice is like honey and golden sunlight, and it makes Quỳnh heart overflow with happiness as they settle in to wait for sunrise. 

“How does Nimrud sound? We can see how it’s changed. It’s not been so long, but I miss it. We can walk through the palace gardens. You always liked to see the flowers bloom." 

“We'll see its white walls by spring, my love.” Andromache promises once more, “As the stars as my witness.”

**Author's Note:**

> They got around, and probably had a dozen 'Malta's, but this fic's set around 680 BC so...  
> Ranrike - in South East Norway, by the sea  
> Bukhara - name of the whole oasis, there's a city in that region now  
> Til Barsip - now Tell Ahmar on the Euphrates River  
> Nimrud - capital of the Neo-Assyrian empire was the largest city in the world in 857 BC


End file.
